As a leading HVAC solutions manufacturer, we are committed to sustainability and environmental responsibility. As customers’ demand for environmental and material data has increased, we proactively support them with information for their Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs).
The Growing Importance of EPDs in the Building Industry
EPDs are essential in the building and ventilation industry. They provide a standardized way to measure and communicate a product’s environmental impact, enabling industry professionals to make informed decisions when selecting materials and products. This contributes to greener, more sustainable buildings.
Karin Schmidt, OJ’s QHSE Coordinator, shares her experience: “Around 2019, customer requests for environmental data really took off. Starting from scratch, I soon realized that I had to find a way to deliver data in a more organized way.”
“To address this growing demand, we began developing Declaration on Environment and Materials (DEM) in 2020-2021. This source of information helps our customers create their EPDs more efficiently. The DEM has been continuously adapted and developed through feedback and collaboration with our customers to fit their information needs better.“
Karin Schmidt, QHSE Coordinator, OJ Electronics
Our Partnership with VELTEK and the Environmental Product Declarations Project
In 2022, we were invited by VELTEK, Denmark’s largest technical industry organization, to participate in a project producing industry EPDs for ventilation ducts and ventilation units (AHUs). “From 2019 until now, I’ve networked in this area, exchanging knowledge and experiences, participating in webinars, etc. Then last year, we had the opportunity to join the VELTEK project, and everything fell into place,” says Karin.
VELTEK represents approximately 125 companies with over DKK 30 billion turnovers in Denmark. The organization plays a crucial role in supporting the building industry’s demand for EPDs, which impacts the ventilation sector.
“This is an important development that shows that we as an industry are doing our best to document our climate footprint and thus contribute to reducing CO2 emissions from construction”, says Lennart Østergaard, Head of the Ventilation Department at VELTEK Ventilation. The Danish Technological Institute prepares the industry EPDs, which are 3rd-party verified by Niras and published on EPD Denmark’s website.
The VELTEK project, which ran through 2022 to April 2023, had the collaboration of 10 AHU manufacturers and suppliers, including five OJ Electronics customers and us. The VELTEK project has been supported by the Danish Housing and Planning Authority and Realdania, a non-profit and charitable association that supports projects that create a quality of life for all through the built environment.
“Great praise must be given to all the participating manufacturers and suppliers who have delivered many hours in the project – when the Danish Technological Institute prepares an EPD, we must document all processes in the company that are important for material and resource consumption. We must have a full overview of all the components and materials that are part of the product – including those that come from subcontractors – and we must know the company’s own consumption of energy, water, heat as well as waste and waste divided into relevant fractions, and what the waste scenarios are”, says Christian Grønborg, Head of Department at the Danish Technological Institute, and project manager on the EPDs project.
Supporting Customers with Environmental Information
Jan Holm, Product & Project Director at OJ Electronics, highlights the benefits of the collaboration: “We contributed to the project by providing data on a range of OJ products, such as our AHU controls. Working with VELTEK enabled us to validate our approach to environmental data and offered valuable learning opportunities.”
We support our customers with their EPD creation by providing information on materials, packaging, Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC), ISO 14001 environmental certification, and average carbon footprint per product from production processes (scope 2). You can find our DEM on our website, on each product page, in the documents area “Environmental Declarations”. If a declaration for a product is not yet there, we’ll prepare it upon request from the customer.
The Benefits for Our Customers
By offering accurate and detailed environmental data, we aim to increase competitiveness for our customers.
“EPDs will set a sustainable competitive advantage in the long run. By using our data, our customers have more precise material data for their EPDs. And more precise data will give them more precise – and better – carbon footprint calculations“
Jan Holm, Product & Project Director, OJ Electronics
The collaboration with VELTEK and our commitment to providing transparent environmental data empowers our customers to make informed decisions about the products they use. By staying informed and using our data and the industry EPDs from VELTEK, our customers can demonstrate their own commitment to sustainability and contribute to reducing the environmental impact of their projects.
Our Dedication to Supporting Customers with Environmental Declarations
We remain dedicated to supporting our customers with environmental data. By continuously improving our processes and collaborating with industry organizations like VELTEK, we can offer a competitive advantage through environmental transparency and responsible practices.
To learn more about our sustainability efforts or to get support with your EPDs, visit our website or contact our team of experts. We’re here to help you achieve your environmental goals. By staying informed and working together, we can create a more sustainable future for all.
You can download the industry EPDs resulting from the VELTEK initiative below. The first is the one we have been collaborating on (for AHUS), and the two other EPDs are for ducts, which you might also find useful.
Understand the EPDs
An Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) is a standardized, third-party verified document that communicates the environmental impact of a product or a service throughout its life cycle. EPDs are based on Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies, which evaluate the environmental impacts of a product from raw material extraction through production, use, and disposal or recycling.
The main goals of an EPD are to:
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- Provide transparent and reliable information about the environmental impact of products and services.
- Enable comparisons between products with similar functions to help consumers and businesses make informed decisions.
- Encourage continuous improvement in the environmental performance of products and services.
EPDs are developed following the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards, particularly ISO 14025 and ISO 14040/14044 series. They contain information on various environmental aspects, including:
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- Global warming potential (carbon footprint)
- Ozone depletion potential
- Acidification potential
- Eutrophication potential
- Photochemical ozone creation potential
- Resource depletion (water and non-renewable resources)
- Waste generation
EPDs are typically used by manufacturers, suppliers, architects, designers, and construction companies to assess the environmental impact of their products or services and to meet sustainability goals or green building certification requirements, such as the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB) or the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM). The EPDs created for the VELTEK project were developed in accordance with EN 15804 A1+A2 standards.